Filipino actress Beauty Gonzalez has come under fire for flaunting jewellery that had come from an excavated site during a recent appearance at a fundraiser gala in Manila.
Earlier this week, Gonzalez wore a nude corseted gown with what she described as “centuries-old gold neck piece and earrings” unearthed from cities including Butuan and Surigao, as an “appreciation for Philippine ancestral gold”.
She said in an Instagram post that the accessories, which were previously displayed at the National and Ayala museums in Manila, had been reworked by a local jeweller.
"Beautifully reworked in this modern setting by my favourite jeweller," she said referring to Riqueza, which describes itself as a brand specialising in vintage and estate jewellery.
However, not everyone was impressed with the look, as art critic and curator Marian Pastor Roces took to social media to speak out against the actress's choice of accessory.
"Someone tell this woman that the orifice covers she is paying 'homage' to are grave robber stuff. Because if these were legally excavated, the pieces would belong to the National Museum or the Bangko Sentral," said Roces.
"Or if the pieces were excavated decades ago and therefore privately owned by sensible collectors before current restrictions, the question still remains: why death masks as necklace?" she asked.
She went on to call Gonzalez a “fashion victim” and questioned how what she wore could be seen as fashionable.
“This fashion victim is wearing mouth and eye covers: around 10 of them. Which is to say that the necklace was fashioned from excavations of many individuals. That is an astounding number of desecrated graves,” Roces continued.
“How on earth is this an homage, exhibiting impunity and crassness? Wearing archaeological gold death pieces, flaunting excess, is odious. Ignorance [blended with arrogance] can't possibly be fashionable.”
Meanwhile, the post itself has divided people, although most are siding with Roces.
One person asked: "It doesn't bother you that those death masks were intended to aid the dead into crossing into the next realm?" while another said: "This is not appreciation. This is just being absolutely disrespectful."
However, some have stuck up for Gonzalez. One person commented: "What a way to showcase and appreciate Philippine heritage" while another wrote: "Classic and elegant".
